Bar of the week: Out Of The Blue at The Berkeley

Every week, we scour the city to find the best bars our capital has to offer. Whether you're a cocktail kind of guy, or a man who enjoys a decent draft beer, there's a GQ-worthy drinking spot to suit every taste.

Valentine's Day ideas that are guaranteed to impress her

From gorgeous gifts to romantic getaways and the best places to take your beau out to celebrate, we've compiled the ultimate list of Valentine's Day ideas for her - as chosen by the women of GQ - to treat your better half with this 14 February

Bar of the week: Out Of The Blue at The Berkeley

Every week, we scour the city to find the best bars our capital has to offer. Whether you're a cocktail kind of guy, or a man who enjoys a decent draft beer, there's a GQ-worthy drinking spot to suit every taste.

Valentine's Day ideas that are guaranteed to impress her

From gorgeous gifts to romantic getaways and the best places to take your beau out to celebrate, we've compiled the ultimate list of Valentine's Day ideas for her - as chosen by the women of GQ - to treat your better half with this 14 February

It’s been a little over two years since Jurgen Klopp assumed the position as Liverpool manager and it’s still relatively hard to gauge whether or not he’s made a success of his time at Anfield. There’s no doubt that the German has brought in a more exciting style of play on Merseyside with his self-proclaimed heavy-metal attack, but what does his team actually have to show for it? Aside from being involved in some of the most entertaining matches of the past 24 months, Klopp hasn’t lifted a single trophy for his fans – and that’s what really matters.

The only realistic chance of bringing silverware back to Liverpool this season will be with the Champions League – not out of the realms of possibility, but it’ll take something special after selling Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona earlier this month. It was a tough call to make, however letting his best player depart mid-season rather than in the summer had some scratching their heads.

The arrival of a ready-made replacement would have made sense of the sale, however Klopp failed to fill the gap. While Liverpool’s rivals strengthened – Manchester City with Aymeric Laporte and a new contract for Kevin De Bruyne; Arsenal with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan; and Manchester United with Alexis Sanchez – Klopp left himself short of elite back-up quality with only Danny Ings, Dominic Solanke and Ben Woodburn to call upon in attack.

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There is method to Klopp’s madness, though, which in some ways is admirable. He doesn’t sign players for the sake of it – the individual has to be right for Liverpool. They have to fit his criteria. He has targets and will not give up on them until a deal is dead in the water. Last summer’s move for Virgil van Dijk, for example, broke down after Southampton blocked the transfer, but Liverpool didn’t just turn to plan b. They sat tight, waited for the next opportunity and sealed the deal in January.

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This perhaps explains why Klopp seems to have such an affinity with each of his players. They all feel wanted. There is a bond there – it’s evident simply by the way he embraces each and every one of them at the end of each game. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had barely been given a squad number when he arrived in the summer and Klopp was frequently seen holding him tight like he’d found his long-lost son. Adam Lallana, too, is the perfect example of this special relationship. The 29-year-old’s game has been enriched by Klopp’s input on and off the training field, so much so that he took his new-found confidence and form into matches for his country and won England Player of the Year for 2016.

But one of the most perplexing things about the German’s reign is how he’s managed to spend £216.9m without addressing the biggest issue in Liverpool’s squad of the past six years: the goalkeeper. Other than the £4.7m acquisition of Loris Karius in 2016, Klopp hasn’t made any significant move to improve the club’s problem position.

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His negligence on that front goes some way to explaining why Liverpool have lost 45 points from winning positions since he took over - more than any other team in Europe in that time frame. The goalkeepers aren’t the only ones to blame – there has been a worrying lack of progress with the Reds’ defence over the past two years, too, despite various tweaks and revamps. He also has a near identical win percentage (51.5%) as Brendan Rodgers (50%), which begs the question: have Liverpool actually improved since their previous manager?

In attack is where Klopp will leave a legacy. The full-throttle style he has instilled at Anfield is unrivalled; there isn’t a better team in world football right now on the counter attack. When Liverpool win possession high up the pitch, the net is usually bulging before opposition players even have a chance to register the turnover in play. They’re scintillating to watch in the final third, much of which is down to this season’s new – and best – Klopp signing, Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian has scored 28 goals in 33 games this season and picked up six individual awards.

Klopp came close to bringing silverware to Anfield in his first season, but fell short after losing the League Cup final to Manchester City in February 2016 and later the Europa League final to Sevilla in May of the same year. In regards to the lack of Premier League title fight from Liverpool since Klopp took over, ex-defender Jamie Carragher recently put things into perspective, “You can talk about trophies and winning the Premier League, but Liverpool have got to get back to being a Champions League club. They’ve been in the Champions League twice in ten years, and the only reason they got back in it was because they didn't have European football that season. If he can secure Champions League football in his first two full seasons, it will be a really good job.”

Klopp’s relatable, outgoing and downright hectic personality makes him a likeable and welcome character in the Premier League, but the frenzied chest-beating and wild embraces with his players at the full-time whistle will start to wear thin unless meaningful success isn’t delivered soon. The idea that he is Liverpool’s modern-day answer to Bill Shankly is beginning to become less of a reality and more of an illusion.